NYFW Day 1: Michael Angel, David Delfin AND Anna Wintour

So I've finally made it to the big tents in the big city, and, so far, it's not as chaotic as I would have expected. No frantic scrambling, no ticket SNAFU's, free wifi aplenty, it's positively smooth sailing. Maybe it's because it's the first day and the big guns don't come out until tomorrow at the earliest, maybe it's because I still have some energy left. Or maybe, it's because so far, I've not had to leave Bryant Park (no zooming around the city in the fashion bus like a madwoman). Either way, morning one of day one has proved to be a far more compact and considerably less stressful experience than good old LFW.

Two fab stylists in the tents, both in Louboutins

The morning began at 9AM with young designer Michael Angel, whose collection of brightly colored graphic prints and sharp tailoring immediately brought to mind Alexander McQueen's car-part inspired print as well as William Tempest's A/W09 collection. The one special nuance I noted was the lovely integration of Swarovski crystals into some of the looks--one dress with crystal trimmed zippers, and sheer mesh Swarovski-embellished shirts worn under constructed shifts gave the look something of an update. Although it was well done--great colors, prints and shapes, I felt I'd seen it all before.






Then it was off to BCBG Max Azira, who also seemed to glean from Mr. McQueen, as psychedelic graphic prints popped down the runway in toned down Herve Lege shapes, bodices and a maxi or two. Nothing too exciting to report on that front except what I saw sitting in the front row: my first Anna sighting.


Then came Madrid-based NY-newcomer David Delfin, whose collection of tone-on-tone mint and spearmint green with navy twists at the end was beautifully crafted and sophisticated with edge. The menswear in particular really stood out, one white shirt was even cut to resemble a man's washboard stomach, complete with pecks and nips, but was done so subtly that it looked nothing like those aprons with Baywatch bodies spraypainted on the front which such a description conjures. In a word, it was tasteful. There was deconstruction aplenty, complete with a look for the newly unemployed recession maverick: a suit with an entire arm chopped off. Also a plunge square cut out jumpsuit, the sexiest re-take on the silhouette I've seen in a while. I also had my first Kelly Cutrone sighting. There's more Hillz love to come this afternoon though, Whitney Port's debuting her own line. It was only a matter of time, really. But I'm still waiting for She-Pratt to go sartorial.